BREAKING: BioWare Is Shutting Down
No more Mass Effect or Dragon Age.
BioWare
The legendary game developer BioWare is closing its doors: Electronic Arts will cut around 400 jobs across its studios, according to Bloomberg, and 50 of them will be at the creator of Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and other popular titles.
Mass Effect fans will be especially disappointed: the next game in the franchise has been shelved.
"Now, after more than three decades of shared adventures, BioWare is closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending," BioWare said on X/Twitter. "There is nothing easy about writing those words. Our focus right now is on our incredibly talented team who put their hearts into these games, and supporting one another through this transition.
What generations of BioWare built together is something to celebrate and remember. These games became so much more because you played them, debated your choices, fell in love with the characters, and made these worlds your own.
From all of us at BioWare, thank you for being the most meaningful part of our story."
Unfortunately, this decision is not as surprising as one might expect when talking about shutting down such a prominent studio. Mass Effect: Andromeda was famously criticized by players, as was Dragon Age: The Veilguard. When EA, BioWare's parent company, was acquired by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, fans expressed concern that games that, let's say, don't align with Saudi Arabian views would be affected.
This is all speculation, of course, but I expect the acquisition did play a role in the final decision, at least in terms of cutting expenses.
Last year, BioWare's co-founder Greg Zeschuk said that working for EA was challenging: "EA gives you enough rope to hang yourself," he joked. Back then, the studio managed, but not anymore, it seems.
What a tragic day for the industry.
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